Former Star-Ledger reporter Eleanor Barrett, 46, dies of heart attack

Eleanor Barrett is being remembered as a devoted mother who fulfilled her professional dreams and personal passions.

"But for all she accomplished herself, she always seemed to look for the best in other people," said her mother, Cathy Barrett.

Barrett, a former Star-Ledger staff reporter, died of a heart attack Saturday at her home in Califon. She was 46.

Her daughter, Kristy, said Barrett was someone who rose to the challenge of being a single parent at age 22, while going to college to embark on a career in journalism. At the same time, she managed to occasionally fit in some fun with singing performances in local stage productions.

"She fought for everything she had and she won," Kristy Barrett said. "She was just the sweetest person you could ever hope to meet. I’m going to miss her terribly."

Barrett, who was born in Kearny, grew up in Neptune and also lived in Florida during her teenage years. She graduated from Rutgers University in 1992 with a degree in journalism, which included a one-year internship at The Star-Ledger.

After working for Forbes Newspapers from 1992 to 1994 and serving a one-year stint at the Courier-News in Bridgewater, Barrett returned to The Star-Ledger in May 1995. She would stay until September 2003, working as a reporter in the Somerset County news bureau.

Among her most notable stories for The Star-Ledger was a 2002 series that tracked the journey of a Norway spruce from Bloomsbury that became the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center that year.

"She had a knack for finding very interesting stories in Somerset Hills," said Star-Ledger columnist Mark DiIonno, then assistant managing editor of local news at the paper. "She knew the territory well and it got her out to page one."

Star-Ledger reporter Jeanette Rundquist said Barrett was "always upbeat, but dogged in pursuing a story."

Former Star-Ledger colleague Bev McCarron recalled how Barrett once fell and ended up in a hospital emergency room while covering a parade for the Somerset Patriots minor-league baseball team in Somerville.

"She wound up next to a man who had just been arrested for murder — and then proceeded to try to get that story, too," McCarron said.

"It was a great treat to attend her plays," McCarron added. "I can still see her as the stern Mother Superior in ‘The Sound of Music’ at St. Ann’s Church (in Raritan) and onstage at Plays-in-the-Park (in Edison). She also was the one to bring the holiday spirit to work, when she would organize our Christmas parties."

Barrett moved into the business sector after her Ledger tenure. She served as a senior associate editor for the insurance publication A.M. Best from 2004 to 2007. She then joined Deloitte LLP, the New York-based management consulting firm, where she was a writer and senior manager until her passing.

Howard Mills, director and chief advisor for the Insurance Industry Group at Deloitte, said the company was "shattered by her loss."

"Her work was always exceptional and her contributions too numerous to recount," Mills said. "What made her truly exceptional, however, was her good nature, thoughtfulness for others and her passion for excellence. We will miss her always."

Visitation hours will be held Thursday from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Rezem Funeral Home, 457 Cranbury Road in East Brunswick. A funeral service will be held immediately afterward.